The Sulman Medal, one of the most prestigious awards for architecture in New South Wales, was won by Neeson Murcutt Architects at the recently announced Australian Institute of Architects’ 2016 NSW Architecture Awards. Among the notable winners on awards night in Sydney were major inner-city works such as 5 Martin Place that balanced the demands of commercial, public and urban interests.

Introduced in 1932, the Sulman Medal recognises a public building of exceptional merit; this year’s award went to the ‘quintessentially Australian’ Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club by Neeson Murcutt Architects.

According to the jury:

"This project is completely engaged with the environment and the culture of coastal NSW. The execution and detailing is beautifully refined and resolved, but still tough and robust to suit the extreme, corrosive environment and the demands of a 'club' client."

Photography by Brett Boardman

5 Martin Place, designed by JPW and TKD architects in collaboration, won in the Commercial, Heritage and Urban Design categories. Describing the entry as a ‘masterful example of strategic, design-led planning’, the jury noted that ‘the built project not only executes the intent of the strategic planning piece as a powerful and deliberate architectural work, it also breathes new life into Martin Place, Pitt Street and perhaps most surprisingly, the previously uninhabited service laneway network’.

Liberty Place by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp received honours for Commercial, Sustainable and Urban Design along with the City of Sydney Lord Mayor’s Prize for the creation of a new public space for the city and a revitalised precinct for workers and visitors between ANZ Tower and Legion House.

Photography by John Gollings

According to Lord Mayor Clover Moore, the heritage listed Legion House has been refurbished as a fully zero carbon building, an Australian first for a refurbished building, creating its own renewable electricity generation.

Congratulating all the winners, NSW President Shaun Carter observed that the winning work from this year’s awards showcased the exemplary skill and creativity of architects who make extraordinary architecture and public spaces that are the cornerstone of great city and place making.

The 2016 NSW Architecture Awards program received 179 entries from across the state with 60 projects picked as winners from a shortlisted pool of 79 projects.

Projects that received a Named Award or Award are now in the running for the National Architecture Awards, to be announced in November.